Debate impeachment

The war in Iraq is evidence that complacency in the media can cause untold damage to our world. Please do not allow the impeachment debate to also be mired in fallacies that through repetition become truth because of a uncurious mindset.

It has been argued that impeachment is a distraction. President Bush's actions undermine our entire system of government - that must be fixed before we get back to the daily business of governing.

If the president is not impeached for his actions, this will set a precedent that allows future presidents to start wars at will, torture prisoners, wiretap citizens without warrants and suspend habeas corpus. We must act now to prevent that from happening again in the future.

Members of Congress take an oath of office promising that they will defend the Constitution from "enemies both foreign and domestic." This is their primary duty. When the Constitution is safe, then they have the luxury to attend to other matters.

Impeachment will only involve parts of Congress for a short time. President Clinton's impeachment only took about four months. The actual trial in the Senate only took two months. Other business can take place in parallel.

It is also argued that impeachement is about revenge. While impeachment is a very serious step that should not have been trivialized the way it was during the last presidential administration, it is also an indispensable part of a system of checks and balances that sustains our democracy.

When strong evidence exists of the most serious crimes, we must use impeachment or lose the ability of the legislative branch to compel the executive branch to obey the law.

This is not a question of supporting one party over another, but of upholding the rule of law over both of them. This is about protecting the Constitution and the abuse of power by the executive branch, not about any one person.

The American public depend upon your investigative reporting in order to operate our democracy. Please help us.